Colours
by free elf 25
Summary: They were just kids. (A Modern Founders AU.)
1. A Character (Or Four)

"GET OUT!" his mother screeched, flinging a vase at the wall beside his head.

"Gladly," he hissed back. The sounds of the door shutting and the keys hitting the pavement almost masked the torrent of abuse she hurled from inside those walls.

_Monster._

_Freak._

_Demon._

His pace increased until he was sprinting down the streets, trying to dislodge the feeling choking his insides.

_Monster._

* * *

"Order up!"

The man sitting at the counter looked up and grinned at her. "Thanks doll."

"Anytime," she winked, keeping the flirtatious sway in her hips until the kitchen doors swung shut and she relaxed. The pub definitely didn't pay her as much as she deserved, but it still payed, and she got free drinks at the end of the night so she couldn't really complain. Another two months of hip shaking and puke cleaning and she'd have enough money to get out.

"Oi! Quit daydreaming and get back on the floor- we've got customers!"

She sighed, plastering on the facade again. Just two months and then she was out.

* * *

She didn't understand why her sister was so obsessed with setting her up. Just because she was married and settled and trying did not mean that her 21-year-old sister had to be.

This was an opinion she wasn't afraid to state while her hair was being pinned up delicately.

"Because we want what's best for you," was the immediate reply.

"Surely I would know more about what's better for me than you?"

Her sister smiled, humouring her with a 'then what do _you_ think's better for you?"

"Not this. I don't even know him, but if he's anything like the last few guys you've made me suffer, I'm bound to hate him."

"Just suffer this one more? For me?"

She sighed, giving in to her sister's wide-eyed expression once again. After all, she was going to be wrapped up in her husband and their wonderful baby plans all too soon for her liking- surely a few crummy dates were worth her sister's affection?

"Remind me - where is this date taking place?" she asked, eyeing the chosen outfit disdainfully.

* * *

"Remind me - where are you taking this girl?"

He turned. Grinned. "Just this local place. Nothing special."

His mum crinkled her nose in worry. "Her family is quite an important one- a lot of links with the Ministry. Strong links too. Are you sure 'nothing special' is good enough?"

"Mum," he smiled, "we're barely in our twenties. I'd like to think that we can leave the reservations and ball gowns for another few years or so."

At this she backed down, though a few minutes while adjusting his jacket she said, "Just remember to be a gentleman. If you're anything like your father, I know you're bound to forget."

"Oi! I heard that! I'll have you know that..."

"Good luck," she whispered, strolling into the living room to listen to her husband's story. He gazed after them, admiring the gentle creases in their faces which crinkled when they looked at each other.

Shaking his head, he left, shutting the door quietly behind him. Best to not keep the lady waiting.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_Long time, no see ;) My inspiration for Treacherous has completely fizzled out, and I've yet to figure out the plot for the other stories I had in mind, so I picked up this. I originally was going to do a proper Founders fic a year ago or something, but inside decided to do my own twist (mainly because I know zilch about the 10th century). The chapters will get longer- this is just an introduction to our four 'narrators'. Can you figure out who's who? :)_


	2. A Bar Fight

It was cold.

And he was bloody late.

She gave an irritable sigh, stamping her feet in vain hope. Her sister had wrongly dressed her in a leather jacket and floaty blue dress, when really she should have been wearing multiple layers and a handgun because _he was late._

She should leave.

She was-

"Hi! Sorry. I brought flowers if that makes up for it."

The date was a little older (23 according to her sister), with reddish hair curling around his ears and a squarish figure. Broad shoulders, chiseled jaw, muscled...everything. One hand was clumsily thrust into a pocket of his newly washed jeans, while the other held out a bouquet of tulips. She smiled despite herself.

"It's fine, though I think right now I'd rather a strong drink."

He leaned back, taking her in with a grin. "You must be freezing! Come on."

She couldn't help but notice the way his eyes didn't match his tone, glinting with appreciation and desire rather than worry.

Maybe her sister had dressed her right after all.

* * *

She was pretty, and she could hold her alcohol.

He laughed at the story she was telling, mentally listing more things he found nice about her.

Pale skin, dark hair, brown eyes. Shorter than he expected, and flaunted her riches, but that couldn't be helped. At first she'd seemed unsure about the pub he'd chosen, but a couple of drinks in and it looked like she barely noticed anymore.

"Need anything else?" the waitress asked as she grabbed the empty bottles from their table. She was young and blonde and tall, and he couldn't help but cast a look down across the rest of her.

"No, that's all for us," his date answered sharply, bringing his attention back. The waitress nodded, hurrying away uncomfortably. "Did you enjoy the view?"

He opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Everything about this woman said that she wouldn't fall for any line he had ready, so for once he fell back speechless, watching helplessly as she scowled and rose.

"Merlin. You're just like all the others," she muttered, pulling her jacket on as she left. Finally his brain kicked in and he stumbled after her, the room twirling beneath his feet.

"Wait! Hold up! _Stupid, why are girls so observant, why couldn't she be into that sort of-_WAIT!"

* * *

He'd gone back home the next day. The keys were where he'd dropped them. Inside, no one was home. The TV was unplugged and nothing was moving, albeit for the cluster of flies hanging around the sink in the kitchen. Everything was where it should have been, except for in his room. She'd thrown everything haphazardly into boxes, and there were abandoned matches scattered across the floor. He didn't want to know what she'd gone out to get. More matches? Fuel? Maybe she'd just needed to escape for a bit.

Quietly he packed what he needed into a duffel bag, filling the empty spaces with tinned food and scattered utensils. A knife was strapped comfortingly to his hip.

When she came home, he knew what she'd find. A clean kitchen, with all the dishes put away. A spare box of matches placed on top of the leftover boxes. A sticky note on the coffee table held down be a scratched set of keys, stating the only words she'd refused to hear.

_I'm sorry._

Maybe she was home now. Maybe she was calling people up, trying to find him, trying to forgive him. Maybe she'd ignored it all, plugged in the TV and relaxed.

"Another?" the waitress asked, pointing towards his drained bottle. He nodded, looking up at her. She was a year or two younger than him, with blonde hair and a straight figure. For the past few hours she'd swapped his drinks with a smile, even igniting some spouts of small talk. Now, however, she seemed shaken, and he followed her line of vision just in time to see a drunken red-head stumble after his furious date.

"What happened?" he asked the waitress, draining half his bottle in a few gulps.

"He's drunk, started checking me out while I was over there. She got pissed, but I think she was sort of expecting it. Makes it worse, really. Total first date fail."

He raised an eyebrow at her answer, causing her to blush.

"You work in a bar for so long, you tend to pick up on the different types of people around."

"Oh really?" he smirked. "So what kind of person am I?"

Unfortunately neither got the chance tell or find out as a scream of 'let go of me' came from outside, and he sprinted out of the pub.

"A total idiot," the waitress replied to his back as she followed him out, ignoring the curious looks from their customers.

* * *

The idiot was a bit ahead of her, already grabbing the shoulder of the other guy and turning him around. She instantly recognised him as the guy who'd checked her out before, and behind him was the seething girl, hurling abuse at the pair of them.

"Total idiots! Why can't you just BUTT OUT AND LEAVE ME ALONE?" she was screaming, but it went unnoticed as the red-head threw the first punch, obviously expecting his less-bulky opponent to back down. Instead the idiot grabbed the redhead's neck and pushed him down, kicking him in the stomach three times before releasing him and cracking his fist across his face.

"STOP IT! JUST FUCKING STOP IT!" the brunette shrieked. "If I needed saving, I could have done it myself! JUST STOP IT!"

The idiot listened, taking a few steps back from his opponent. Quickly she (the waitress) rushed into action, offering him a napkin for his nose and asking if anyone needed to go to A&E while commenting on the surprising lack of audience they had. The previous offer was promptly refused by the redhead, who charged at the idiot with something clutched in his hand.

"Shit. Weapon!" she shrieked.

"Shit. Asshat." the brunette beside her groaned, withdrawing a stick from her bag and sending a torrent of red sparks towards the charging man, knocking him back and out of speed. The object that had been in his hand flew through the air, and the brunette deftly caught it.

Everything went quiet.

The redhead was gaping at her, the adrenaline from the alcohol and testosterone obviously running out.

The idiot had lost all colour in his face, staring at the sticks the brunette was holding like they were dancing aliens.

The brunette was scowling at the pair of them, looking like she was about to explode into a torrent of insults at any second.

As for herself, she was doing okay. A little shaken up, but that was to be expected- it's not every day you meet a magical individual such as yourself, let alone two.

"Are you sure neither of you need to go to A&E?"

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

_Haha! You know when you start writing a story and you just have that inspiration? It's like State/Out of Mind all over again! Except a completely different plot. Anyway, read and review please? :)_


	3. An Introduction

"Are you sure neither of you need to go to A&E?"

"What is wrong with you?!" she shrieked, ignoring the other girl's question about a knee or something. "What were you planning to do, curse him? Maybe poke him with it until he surrendered? Merlin help me, how did my sister think I'd ever survive a date with someone so stupid?! Now the Ministry's going to get involved and there will have to be memory charms and interrogations and inquiries and do you know how much shit you've gotten us into?"

Her 'date' (ex-date technically. She'd finished the date when she stormed out) stared back with wide-eyes, like he was trying to take in the information still. "One sec," he muttered, walking over to the gutter behind him and spewing his guts out over it a second later. She growled in exasperation, turning to the two witnesses. The waitress was the first to react, rushing out a high-pitched 'wait' and shooting sparks out her fingertips. _Like this night could get any weirder._

"I'm a muggle-born. Don't really use it that much." The waitress explained, her happiness practically bubbling out of her. She just nodded and turned away to face the other boy. Man. Whatever. He was taller and skinnier than his opponent had been, and the angles in his face drew attention to the grey eyes settled on hers.

"Sorry about this, but it's better for you if-"

He rose his hands and the air suddenly rose with them. She hastily pinned down her skirt to her legs as her hair and bag floated around her, the waitress squealing with delight from beside her.

"There'll be no need for that," he commented dryly, letting his hands drop. "Pureblood, adopted by muggles. Not that it's of any importance to you."

The fourth member of their party stumbled into view, only to hurry back to the gutter with a splatter.

"Oh my God! This is brilliant! Four of us, meeting here, like this. What are the odds?"

"Very small. Miniscule, in fact." She muttered, still eyeing the 'adopted pureblood'.

"We should introduce ourselves! I'm Helga, 19. You?"

She turned, looking at the energetic waitress. "Rowena of Ravenclaw. 21."

Helga bounced happily, turning to the boy. He kept his eyes trained on Rowena. "Salazar. Originally of Slytherin."

"I am Godric of-" Another splatter. "Ew."

"Godric of Ew? How...heroic." Salazar smirked. Rowena bit her cheek, stopping herself from grinning.

"Gryffindor, though technically it's Godric Peterson. Half-blood." She answered for their confused looks.

"There is no technicality in awesomeness!" Godric boomed, finally reappearing. Rowena looked him up and down in disgust, watching as his arrogance drooped. "I'm not going to get laid tonight, am I?"

* * *

Salazar settled at the edge of the hotel bed, thinking over the night. Once Godric had fully recovered from his vomiting spout, Rowena had dragged him off into a nearby alleyway to disappear, half-heartedly apologising for the disturbance he'd caused. Helga had turned to him then with wide-eyes, but he was too tired and confused to bother, muttering a good night and leaving. He'd barely remembered to pick his bag up as he left.

It was just so weird. The last time he'd seen someone with a wand was when he was 9, over a decade ago. Why, after all that time, after all that had happened, did it all choose to come crashing back into his life in the form of a hopeful waitress, an arrogant drunk and a short, sarcastic witch?

Still trying to figure out these questions, he began to undress for bed, fingering the knife as he unstrapped it.

Another question- why didn't he grab it? Godric was running at him, and he didn't even consider it. All that he thought was the electrifying pulse across his skin that he knew would zap across to the brute as soon as he touched him.

Instead of attempting to answer the mess of questions rolling around inside his head, he left it to deal with tomorrow. Or later today, as the clock corrected him. With a final sigh, the lights flicked out, and he collapsed into slumber.

* * *

They'd left.

She was serving drinks, swaying hips, scrubbing floors, all because they'd left.

Who does that? Who has the nerve to unveil this whole new prospect and then rush off with it and without her? Who has the right to crash into her life like a tornado, fucking everything up, only to disappear before it was over?

It wasn't over.

"Helga. Order up!"

She had two months left of working and swaying and saving, and she swore that as soon as she was out, she was going to unfinish this business and find them.

And she wasn't going to let this be over.

* * *

Godric got home late and sober. Or early and sober. It depends how you look at it. Either way, it was a ridiculous time and his alcohol tainted memory was already starting to return to him, burning at the edges of his mind. It had been odd, stumbling on Helga and Salazar like that, not that Rowena had cared. She'd just seemed pretty intent on getting home, or more specifically, getting _away from him._

Not that he could blame her. He'd been a douche. A drunk douche at that. But everything would be okay as long as his mum didn't find out how he'd completely forgotten the 'act gentlemanly' rule.

His mother, who had given up everything to marry his muggle of a father. His mother, who had tried for a large family and only ended up with him and Tania. His mother, who had done everything to get him on this bloody date, which he'd promptly ruined.

Quietly, Godric walked to his room with a glass of water and a few aspirin in his hands, pretty sure that he would never get a chance to meet any of the three people he'd met tonight again.

Though he wouldn't really mind about Salazar. That son of a bitch had some punch.

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

_Wow, I can see what people mean. For such a large fandom we're super picky over which fanfictions to review ;) And so the actual story starts. Ish. Next chapter. Probably. Review? Or something like that._


	4. A Hotel Room

51 days.

It had been 51 days, or 7 weeks and 2 days.

It had been 51 days, and not one of those days had gone by without Rowena thinking about the other three. Helga, the curious muggleborn anomaly. Salazar with his secretive words and tired eyes. Even Godric, who had sent her apology flowers which subtly changed colour every other minute. Not that she'd told her sister they were apology flowers; as far as Helena and her parents knew, the date went fine, but both members had decided that it was better to stay as friends. Or something. Like she could survive being friends with that doofus.

The things annoying her the most was 'originally Slytherin'. Slytherin sounded like a fancy family name- why would they allow one of their own to be adopted by _muggles?_

"Helena?"

"Rowena."

"Do you know if we still have that book with all the pureblood family trees?"

Helena lowered her book, eyeing her cautiously. "Yeah, it should be in the library. Can I know why?"

"Just curious," Rowena smiled, disappearing down the corridor before anymore questions could be asked. It was common knowledge that the Ravenclaw family always prioritised knowledge over everything else, so it wasn't exactly surprising that inside their mansion lurked a three-floor library with a wallpaper of bookcases. The only issue with such a gigantic collection was the tiring task of scouring the numerous shelves for the one book you wanted. That and it was a bitch to clean.

"Pureblood...pureblood...screw this. Accio book of pureblood family-"

The end of her spell was cut off as a thick book flew straight into her stomach from around the corner. Growling slightly at her impatient wand, Rowena sat down at the nearest table and began flicking through until she found the Slytherin tree.

**_SLYTHERIN_**

_(All former/other data unknown)_

_*Salazar Slytherin - *Layla Slytherin (nee Malfoy)_

_*Louise Slytherin *Gregory Slytherin - *Veronica Slytherin (nee Pratt)_

_Salazar Slytherin *Benjamin Slytherin_

That was it. 7 names and 6 crosses. Not a single birth or death date, not even a scribbled explanation or number.

"Well this just got creepy," she muttered, returning to the shelves to hunt down any information she could on the Slytherin family.

* * *

5 days.

She had 5 days, and then she could leave.

She had 5 days, but then she got fired.

"What? Please, just give me until the end of this week, I'm begging you!" Helga pleaded with her (former) boss.

"I'm sorry lass, but no-can-do. We've got to make cuts somewhere, and I am sorry that you were included in that."

"But...but..." she scrambled for an idea, "but...notice! You've got to give me notice to find another job! Or at least give me the rest of this weeks pay," she commented helplessly.

The man sighed heavily. "The last part, unfortunately, I do have to do. Here's the check, and I wish you luck. You were a good worker."

A slight smile on her face and a check in her bag, Helga left the pub feeling pretty satisfied. Sure, she was still a bit off what she needed, but that could easily be raised. Maybe busking, or calling in a favour or two that she was owed.

"Helga? Helga!"

She turned, surprised to see Rowena hurtling down the alley towards her.

"Hi," the brunette panted. She was wearing jeans, a vest, a jacket, a coat and a scarf, making Helga feel underdressed just by looking at her.

"Hi. Is something wrong?"

Rowena shook her head fervently. "No, it's not that. It's just...can we walk and talk? I hate standing still."

Helga nodded, letting the other girl lead the way.

"So, this morning I sort of broke. I just hate not knowing things, and having so many questions about you and Salazar has just been eating away at me for weeks! Anyway, I found out some stuff about the Slytherin fami-"

"Rowena," Helga cut in. The brunette looked at her with wide-eyes. "You realise that if you want to know something about somebody else, it would be best to just ask them?"

"But what if they say no?!" Rowena blurted, waving her hand to stop Helga from continuing. "That's not my point. My point is that I couldn't find anything about the Slytherin family except for a few crappy names, so I decided to hunt Salazar down and ask him, whether he liked it or not."

"Oh." Helga frowned. "What did he say?"

"Nothing. There's sort of an issue." Rowena sighed as if what she was about to say physically hurt her. "I don't know where he is. I was sorta hoping that you would."

Helga grinned widely. "I have a theory. But first, how about we get some coffee or something? I'm starving, and I should probably check that you're not psycho or anything."

It took a few seconds of thought but Rowena nodded in agreement, finding herself being dragged to the 'most adorable corner cafe' with the 'cumfiest seats ever, you'll just want to die in them' and the 'best lattes around, unless you don't like coffee. Do you like coffee?'

* * *

"How old were you again?" Helga began, blowing the steam away from her latte.

"21. You were 19, right?"

Helga nodded. "If you're 21, why aren't you at uni or something? It's only November."

"Uni? Erm, we don't have...whatever that is. We just learn our stuff, get a job and raise a family."

"You don't have school?" Helga gasped, taking Rowena's frown as a 'no'. "But how do you learn? What about maths or science or history or...you don't know what a single one of those subjects are, do you?"

Rowena rolled her eyes. "Of course I know what they are; I do read, unlike the majority of my kind. I'm just confused about why you'd think we'd need to know that sort of stuff. We're wizards; all we need to know can either be passed down by our parents or found in a book."

Helga ducked her head, subtly stirring her drink to avoid eye contact. "What about people whose parents can't teach them that sort of stuff? What about when those sorts of books aren't available to them?"

"I don't really know Helga. Muggleborns aren't that big of a thing, they're still sort of an...anomaly, I guess. Do you have a family tree? Maybe there's a half-blood or squib somewhere in there which would help explain it."

"You just want to find out what makes muggleborns tick!" Helga laughed. "Sorry, no tree, though I could try and draw one up later."

Rowena thanked her, and began talking about the minimalistic family tree she'd found for the Slytherin family, leaving Helga muttering 'how can you survive with no school?'

* * *

_Knock knock knock._

He groaned.

_Knock knock knock._

A pillow thumped against the door uselessly.

_Knock knock knock._

"When the 'don't disturb' sign is on, it usually means DON'T DISTURB!" Salazar yelled. There was a faint muffle of conversation from behind the door, before the more dominant voice said 'does it look like I care whether it's rude?' and the door clicked open.

"You see! He's asleep. We should go."

"It's 3 pm." The pillow he'd thrown earlier whacked against the back of his head, earning a gasp from one of the intruders. "Wake up. We need to talk."

"Rowena! Be a little nicer!"

Salazar smirked into the mattress, remembering the short brunette from a month or so ago. Still smirking, he rolled over, revealing the upper part of his bare body. "You might want to pass me some clothes first, love."

She scowled, tossing him underwear and a pair of jeans from the floor. While trying to get them on underneath the sheets, he noticed the third person in their group.

"Hi...Helen? Hetty?"

"Helga," she blushed. Rowena glowered at him.

"Knew it something like that. Been a while." Pants and jeans now successfully on, he stood up, looking around for a t-shirt.

"You should really clean up in here. It stinks," Rowena pointed out, her nose crinkling.

"My deepest apologies, princess," he smiled. She glared at him again. "So what was it you wanted to talk about? Or are you just here to admire?" Helga blushed again, turning her eyes away from his bare torso. Rowena just rolled her eyes and shoved a piece of paper into his chest.

"Explain."

* * *

"When I was..." Salazar faltered. "Do I have to? I don't even know you people!"

"I have a wand and I'm not afraid to use it." Rowena hissed.

"You promised you wouldn't threaten!" Helga scolded before turning to him. "You don't have to, but it might be nice, getting things off your chest. And if you spill, we'll spill too." Rowena looked like she was about to argue, but backed down at the younger girl's glare.

"Fine," Salazar muttered. "My Aunt Louise died when she was 5, two years after my Dad was born. Grandma Layla passed from a heart attack when he was 15, and Grandpa Salazar when I was 6. I don't know what from, but it involved magic. When I was 9, there was a fire. We don't know what started it. My Dad and brother Benjy died, but me and Mum had been coming home from her sister's house and...were too late. Mum put me up for adoption in the muggle system a couple of months later. Judging by this," he waved the sheet of copied paper in the air, "she died too, probably when I was already with the family."

Helga squeezed his hand, her blue eyes glistening with sympathy. From this light he could see the strawberry tint to her hair, covered by a layer or two of hair dye.

"What was the family like?" Rowena inquired. In contrast to Helga's pitying expression, she just seemed curious, knowing that scars from that long ago would be well healed.

"Awful. I managed to hide most magical aspects of myself from them, but after the father passed it got harder. Mother became..." Demented? Hollow? "Depressed. We used to fight a lot, and sometimes I couldn't control it. The TV would spark and things on the other side of the room would break without warning, so she kicked me out." _Monster._

"I'm sorry," Rowena said, though it was apparent that she wanted to ask something else. Helga must have sensed it to as she asked 'is something wrong?'

"No. I was just wondering...what's a TV?" she asked innocently. Salazar couldn't help it - he laughed. Gripping the bridge of his nose to try and stop himself from shaking, he turned to Helga.

"Do you want to explain, or should I?" Helga motioned for him to go ahead, leaning back to watch. "It's a bit like a radio - do you know what a radio is? Good. Well, it's sorta like that, except with pictures and people and plot and adverts and a billion more channels. It's basically nothing like a radio. What? I don't know how it _works,_ it's a TV! It just does!"

* * *

"Where was Godric today?" Salazar asked. Helga had rushed off to deposit some check, but promised she'd be back with more food and coffee.

"Merlin knows. I haven't seen him since I dropped him off at his house, though I did receive a lovely bouquet a few weeks afterwards. His hangover must have just worn off."

Salazar chuckled. "Shame. I would have liked to see if I could still beat him when the fight was fair."

"You're such a douche," she scowled.

"Be careful, you're going to get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that!" She took a sip of his mini bar lemonade, one eyebrow raised at his comment. "Why are you so convinced that I'm a douche? All day you've been glaring and rolling your eyes at me, and I want an explanation."

"It's been two hours and you still haven't managed to find a t-shirt," she said. He grinned back cockily.

"Admit it - you've been enjoying the view." She gave him another glare of disgust. "C'mon. Truth."

"Fine. It's because you made Helga tell you her name. Earlier, you totally knew it was Helga and not Hollie or whatever, but you made her say it anyway. That's why I'm convinced you're a douche."

Salazar nodded carefully, leaning back to admire her. "How...perceptive. You should consider it as a career."

"What? Hunting down douchebags like yourself?" she snorted. "My parents would be so proud."

At that moment Helga returned babbling about a special pumpkin latte they just _had_ to try, and the conversation was dropped. Still, Salazar was 97% certain he saw Rowena give him a final glance before her and Helga left for home, all of them agreeing on three words.

_Until next time._

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

_Nearly didn't get to post this today as I was busy freaking out over The Winter Soldier. The DVD arrived today and IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL I SWEAR I ALMOST CRIED!_

_Anyway, originally the Salazar family tree looked okay, but it doesn't transfer probably on here, so I'll just tell you. Salazar and Layla Slytherin gave birth to Louise and Gregory. Louise died when she was 5, as Salazar tells us, while Gregory marries Veronica Pratt, and they have two sons (Salazar and Benjamin). There's no extended family noted. This is just in case any of you didn't understand it :)_

_As always, please review/follow/favourite. Take your pick ;)_


	5. A Next Time

'Next time', as it just so happened, was two days later at Rowena's house. The previous night she has received a letter via a standard brown owl, telling her that the Hufflepuff family tree had been completed to the highest standard possible, and asking if it was okay if they met up the next day.

Rowena replied with her address and a time, requesting that she made sure Salazar wore clothes.

"Who's coming over again?" Helena asked.

"Just some friends of mine. Don't you have somewhere to be? Like, I dunno, your house?"

Helena laughed at her response. "I'll leave as soon as I see who these 'friends' are. Someone has to make sure you're not slipping over to the dark side."

Before Rowena could retort at the jab towards their parents, the doorbell rang. '_15 minutes early. How very Helga-ish,'_ she thought to herself, opening the door and letting her jaw drop.

"Hi. Sorry. Can we talk?" Godric pushed past her, fidgeting impatiently. With his unruly hair and baggy jeans, he looked completely out of place in her pristine hallway, a fact that seemed to glide right past Helena.

"Godric? Merlin Row, you should have just said it was him coming over! I am so sorry for intruding," she babbled.

"We're not da-" Rowena began.

"It's o- wait, what? Who's coming over?"

Both of them turned to a stunned Rowena just as someone apparated outside the door.

"Oh God, I think I'm going to puke."

"We're early! Whaddya know, eh?"

"How can you not be affected by that? The bus is a lot nicer. People to talk to, nice seats to relax in, doesn't remove your lungs and punch you repeatedly in the stomach."

"Don't worry Helga, you'll get used to it eventually."

It was around then that Helena threw open the door, silencing the two new guests and reviving the others from their frozen positions.

"I'm going to leave. See you tomorrow Row," Helena said apologetically, apparating out. Helga and Salazar stepped inside, eyeing the fancy interior carefully.

"Rowena. Would you please explain what is going on?" Godric hissed through clenched teeth.

"Would I...would **YOU** please like to explain what **YOU** are doing in **MY** house, **UNINVITED**?!" she yelled, narrowing her eyes menacingly as he stumbled for a reply.

"Well, I wanted to thank you for not telling people about my actions while I was...intoxicated, and also to request another date because my mum sorta thinks we're dating or something and wants to meet-"

"Maybe you should just stop there," Salazar cut in. Helga moved forward, delicately replacing Rowena's drawn wand with a rolled up sheet of paper.

"That's the family tree by the way, so you might not want to hit him with it."

Growling, Rowena stormed off down the corridor to the library, leaving Salazar, Helga and Godric to follow cautiously.

* * *

"So..." Godric trailed off, tapping his fingers against the desk. The girls had disappeared into the rows of books, Rowena glaring halfheartedly at Salazar's 'No wonder you're so damn nerdy.'

"So?" Salazar replied. Godric ducked his head, avoiding his expectant glare. "_'My mum sorta thinks we're dating and would like to meet you.'_ Why on earth would your mum think you and _Rowena_ were dating?"

"Cos I told her," the older man mumbled. His head finally rose in confusion as Salazar barked with laughter.

"Dumbass," he hissed just as the girls reappeared.

"Can't believe they're locked up. What's so important about personal files?"

"Erm...well...they're sorta...personal?"

"So? This is to add to our dedicated attempts at research! To aid our quest for knowledge! It's not like I'm writing down their addresses and watching them sleep."

"Take it you couldn't get the files," Salazar smiled. Looking at him, Godric couldn't catch any glimpse of the cold exterior he'd faced earlier. The dark crevices of the younger man's face seemed to lighten as he smiled, propping his feet up on Rowena's chair and eyes crinkling as she draped her shorter legs back over his.

"No. Dad has some stupid spell on it, and I don't know the counter. Probably coded or something."

"Did you try alohomora?" Godric suggested in the silence. Rowena sighed.

"Of course I tried fucking alohomora. It was the first thing I tried after it wouldn't freaking open!"

"Alohomora?" Salazar and Helga asked in unison, the latter blushing slightly. Godric stared at the two of them in confusion, finally moving his gaze on to Rowena.

"It's an unlocking spell, one of the basic ones. Sorry, I keep on forgetting you guys never learnt most of this stuff. There's some books for beginners somewhere that I can lend out to you-"

"Why wouldn't they know the basic stuff?" Godric cut in, looking genuinely curious despite the slightly accusing tone.

"Muggleborn," Helga stated with a smile.

"Orphan," Salazar shrugged.

"Imagine how much easier it would be if we really did have a sool or whatever you called it," Rowena joked, disappearing to find some spell books.

"A school," Helga answered for Godric's confused looks. It had become a regular and slightly adorable version of his face today, the frown and jutted out lip making him look less terrifying. "It's a place where muggles go to learn what they need to know for their future. They teach stuff like History and English and Maths, though your lessons would probably be more like Conjuring 101 and Wand Handling."

Salazar snorted at the last one, causing Helga to blush again as she realised what she'd said.

"That would be pretty neat," Godric said. "Wouldn't have to suffer lessons taught by my mum, could have the whole range of subjects open to you instead of the ones 'appropriate to your status'...if there was a school or whatever for wizards, I'd totally go."

While the other two hummed in agreement, Rowena appeared with a stack of ten or so books and dumped them unceremoniously on the table. "So...what did I miss?"

* * *

With Helga and Salazar outside practising some of the new spells, Rowena turned to Godric.

"You have 60 seconds to convince me not to punch you in the face."

Godric's eyes widened and he took a deep breath, staring wide-eyed at the clock. "So the next day my mum asked me how it went and I knew she'd be super disappointed if I told her the truth so I just told her it went fine and then she was like 'so when's the next date' and I said 'I don't know if there's going to be one' and she looked all confused and pissed and disappointed and said 'why? I thought you said it went well. If it went well, why wouldn't there be a second date?' so I made up some shit about you having plans and your sister already having you set up with somebody else and that was fine until she told me she heard from these friends of hers that you were 100% single and that I should ask you out again because she wanted to meet you and for it to work and I didn't want to lie to her because I'm going back up North in a week where I have a flat in this wizarding village and my sister ran off with a muggle so she's already got one disappointment and I'm sorry but could you please just play along until I leave?"

Rowena blinked at him with wide eyes. "Wow, you speak fast. You still have 15 seconds left. Anything to add?"

Godric thought for a few seconds. "I'm a twat, but at least I told you the truth?"

She nodded thoughtfully, tapping her watch to revert it back to its normal time.

"I'm not going to meet your mum, but you can tell her that we're testing a small relationship until you leave."

"Thank you so much!" he grinned, pulling her into a tight hug and releasing her almost in the same instant.

"So..." Rowena coughed awkwardly. "Your sister ran off with a muggle?"

Godric blushed. "She's a squib. Mum's still very invested in the wizarding world and kept on trying to draw her in, and eventually Tania had just had enough. She still writes, mainly about her law degree at...ooni?"

"Uni! That's a school!" Rowena shouted happily. "Yeah. Muggle place. Helga mentioned it once. I think it's for people around our age."

"So what, is normal school for when you're older?" Godric frowned.

"Nonono," Rowena grinned, "it's for younger people. You're stuck there until you're 18, having 5 lessons a day and big exams at the end of each year."

"Sounds like hell," he commented just as the other two reappeared.

"Sup," Salazar smirked. His hair was drenched and his clothes dry in odd patches, while Helga was suspiciously water-free. "She learnt the drying charm and refused to dry me."

"I said I'd do it if you stopped making water sharks that tried to decapitate me!"

Rowena rolled her eyes and cast a quick drying charm on Salazar, muttering about how all of her books had better be dry. Somewhere behind them the front door slammed shut and a feminine voice called out for Rowena.

"You guys need to go. Don't forget the books!" Rowena rushed, shoving the three of them back out the library and into the garden. Godric took Helga's arm, ignoring her squeaks of refusal as he Apparated them out.

"Next time you need us, call this number. I'll be staying there for the next few weeks, and owls catch a little too much attention," Salazar smirked, closing her hand around the piece of paper and brushing his lips against her cheek. When Rowena reopened her eyes, he was gone.

"Rowena? Sweetie?"

"I'm right here mother," she called back, tucking the paper into her pocket and taking a final look around the garden before the doors shut quietly.

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

_Like I tried with all the stories I've posted on here so far, I try to update daily, but I didn't have this chapter typed up or generally finished last night so just left it until today. Chapters usually stay around this length, but I like to think that I get a lot completed in that space and I prefer it split up this way anyway, so sorry for people who love 3,000-5,000 word long chapters._

_As always, please review. I always reply :)_


	6. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**THIS IS BEING POSTED TO ALL MY IN PROGRESS STORIES AND WILL BE REMOVED AS SOON AS THEY'RE UPDATED**

Hi guys. I am so sorry for the serious hiatus, but things have been slightly hectic. It's just been one of those dips, and I haven't really found the time or the energy to update. I will be going through my old stuff and correcting as many mistakes as I can find to ease myself back into the scene while trying to catch up on the ten weeks of writing I've missed. I promise you that these stories are **NOT** abandoned and I **WILL** be updating, and I'd just like to thank you guys for being so patient and forgiving (hopefully, anyway)

Once again, gigantic sorry, gigantic-er thanks if you're going to stick me out, and a g-rex sized promise that I will be updating ASAP. :)


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